Four sets of dashboards on Project>Login’s website provide entryways where students, and those who guide them, can explore professions, education, careers, and profiles of young professionals who studied, and work, in Maine.

We know that the students who are most enthusiastic about digital technologies will follow their curiosity, through exploration, study, and preparation for these great Maine jobs … but they just don’t know where to find the resources to get there. That is why the foundation of our campaign is a pathway of online resources, from curiosity to career, all based on data from the US and Maine Departments of Labor and Education.

We aligned each of those careers to the 6 personality/work styles documented over the past 40 years in the Holland Code system used by the DOL and school and career counselors nationwide — doers, thinkers, creators, helpers, persuaders, and organizers — so that interested students can more easily find the career groups matched to their own particular interests.

We link each of those careers to profiles of the campuses [sample] that offer relevant majors, based on Department of Education CIP codes. Those campus profiles include degree programs, academic support, campus life, financial assistance, and (soon) total expenses and net price calculators from the NCES College Navigator [sample] … all from a computing or IT student’s point of view.

In the future, we could envision an application, available on a middle-school student’s MLTI device, or downloaded to a phone, that would ask personality and interest questions (from the Holland system), offer relevant, targeted videos from Maine professionals who love working in those careers, and provide pathways to explore the specific campuses, staff, and even faculty who could help them determine if a particular career and education might be right for them. This is currently an aspiration, but such a service could go a long way toward raising awareness of great Maine careers and the ways to get there.

Project>Login is a program of Educate Maine which aims to increase the state’s computer professionals through education, information, and internships. Educate Maine, a business-led education organization, is collaborating with Maine’s businesses and universities to educate, engage, and employ more people in the fields of computer science, information technology, and computer engineering. The goal of Project>Login is to generate enough trained professionals in these fields to keep Maine businesses at the forefront of their industries. Learn more about Project>Login at projectlogin.com.

Why do sparks matter?

Every one of us has a spark, “something inside that is good, beautiful, and useful to the world.”

Sparks can be music, poetry, drama, visual arts, dance, sports, leadership, entrepreneurship, volunteering, church involvements, and pretty much any other constructive activity that gives a passionate and energetic sense of purpose.

Sparks have the power to change a life from one of "surviving" to "thriving."

The Maine Sparks project was created to help you turn your spark into a satisfying career here in Maine.